October Featured Toastmaster: Glenda Clare

Dr. Clare grew up in the South Bronx of New York City and now considers North Carolina home. For 20 years, she has worked within the public and mental health systems. She has worked with the ‘worried well’ and ‘hard to reach’ populations.

A past member of national teams, she has facilitated training for health and human service professionals from communities of faith, community-based organizations and neighborhood associations, the criminal and juvenile justice system, the mental and public health systems and local, state and national government.

Dr. Clare’s speaking style is blend of northern and southern cultures creating a down-to-earth yet refined delivery that motivates audiences to tackle some of our nation’s most challenging issues. Glenda speaks most passionately about issues which make families fragile: substance abuse, incarceration, child welfare/foster care, juvenile justice and homelessness. Dr. Clare is licensed as a Baptist Minister in the state of North Carolina.

Dr. Clare is a member of the following professional organizations: American Counseling Association, American Play Therapy Association, American Public Health Association, and the Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network and Toastmasters International. She is the Lead Facilitator for the Durham Prisoner Resource Round Table (DPRRT).

Glenda: I belong to three clubs. I belonged to three clubs before joining Chapel Hill Toastmasters. Chapel Hill Toastmasters is my favorite club. I like the club because the membership is diverse. They are a very supportive and welcoming group. All are welcome to join the club. It was important to me to find a club with first rate evaluation. The members of chapel hill toastmasters take evaluation seriously. The membership provides excellent evaluation based on speaking level.

Joseph Joel: Could you please share a favorite Toastmasters moment that you especially enjoyed for found to be inspiring?

Glenda: I love Anatasia. I think that she is awesome. She has a very warm and loving spirit. I have two Anatasia stories. The first is about one of her table topic speeches. She shared a story of going to the home of a friend for dinner. She shared that at the time she did not have very good command of the English language. At the end of the dinner, her host wanted to know what she thought of the dinner. I can’t remember the word that I am looking for – that she actually used in the speech but it meant “adequate”.

The host had taken a lot of time and trouble to prepare a wonderful meal. Anatasia believed the meal to be wonderful but she could only say that it was “adequate’. I laughed so hard as i heard her tell the story. Even now as I think of it I am laughing.
Second story – I competed in the international speech contest. I shared the story of a very painful experience in my life. Anatasia provided me with a very touching note at the next Toastmaster’s meeting. The note touched my heart. For me, Toastmasters is more than a club – it has become a fellowship of people who are important to me.
Joseph Joel: What speaking goals have you set as a Toastmaster? What are you doing to meet those speaking goals?

Glenda: My initial goal was to complete the cc manual in 3 months. I did that in 2003. A series of circumstances occurred and I was not able to participate in toastmasters from 2005-2007. In 2007, I decided to rejoin Toastmasters – my goal – to become a professional speaker. I was accepted as a full member of the National Speakers Association in June 2009. My current goal is to perfect my speaking topics. I want to be paid to speak throughout the world.

Joseph Joel: What leadership goals have you set as a Toastmaster? What are you doing to meet those leadership goals?

Glenda: I was a leader before I joined toastmasters. I am very active in my community. I have had leadership responsibilities at work and in my community for most of my life. I have not had as much interest in completing the toastmaster’s leadership track. I completed the CL manual. I completed the better club series assignments. I have mentored club members. I am now mentoring a new, innovative club. The club is called “the difference”. They are working with score and the small business development center to create a toastmasters clubs intended to mastermind small business. The club is in development. It is intended for small business owners. All meetings will have a business theme.

I have been assigned the task of implementing speech-a-thons throughout the district. The first speech-a-thon will be conducted on august 15th. Finally, I am creating behind and beyond the wall. One project of behind and beyond the wall is to create Toastmasters clubs in prison settings.

Joseph Joel: Do you apply what you learned in Toastmasters to your work, academic studies, community or faith based organizations?

Glenda: Yes! I am an introvert living the extroverted life of a minister, academician, and professional speaker. Public speaking is core to what I do. I use Toastmasters to practice the art of speaking and hone my skills. I have made many mistakes but I am learning – one step at a time.